Peter Pevensie: Frozen
by TikiTyler9
Summary: His shouting match with Caspian still hangs in the air as King Peter walks through the How with Edmund. Ashamed, angry, and alone, he seeks brotherly comfort. But will Edmund give it to him? Part of a series, can be read alone. See A/N for more info
1. Into the Darkness

A/N: This is a part in a series of short stories documenting the story of Prince Caspian through the eyes of each of the Pevensie siblings. Each Pevensie will tell the story of two events, and each event will be split into two chapters. This is chapter one of the first event seen through King Peter's eyes.

I really hope you all enjoy this! This series is the first fan fic I've ever posted, so I'm eager to hear your thoughts. I'd like to know whether I should continue writing and posting these :)

Also, thanks so much to you all who read and reviewed the first parts of this series: Threshold and Little. Already you guys are making me smile :)

Of course, I own nothing. This all belongs to Disney, Walden Media, and of course, the wonderful mind of CS Lewis. Thanks

STORY THREE: FROZEN

PART ONE: INTO THE DARKNESS

AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF KING PETER THE MAGNIFICENT

There was nothing but the drips of water trickling down the cavernous walls and the crackling of the fire of Ed's torch as we walked side by side through the How. Aside from that, it was silent. I honestly just wanted to take a bath. The stench of battle from Miraz's castle was still clinging to my clothes, and I would've given anything to be sitting in my massive tub at Cair Paravel, or in one of the secluded reflecting pools in the Western Woods. But Ed always chased me out of those pools anyway. He said those woods were _his_, and he didn't want my naked body tarnishing his land.

As I remembered that, I could've chuckled, but instead I just continued to hang my head down. The events of the past twelve hours ran through my mind-- random pieces of memories flashing behind my eyes. All those pieces just ended with the same terrible image-- marching through the dewy grass to the How, where my youngest sister's face paled at the sight of our diminished numbers.

_What happened?_ Those were the only words she could say to me, her voice full of disbelief... maybe even shame.

I lifted my gaze and turned to watch Ed walk beside me, to see if I could spot that same shame in his face. But I couldn't tell-- the light of his torch was playing too many tricks on his features. He hadn't spoken to me since his shout when Caspian and I began to cross blades.

"Are you ashamed of me?" I asked quietly, my heart pounding in anticipation for his reply.

He took a deep breath, still looking ahead. I knew he loved me-- I was just waiting for him to say it... in his own way, at least.

"No..." he replied quietly, and I started to smile until he said, "but I'm ashamed of what you're thinking."

Now I frowned. "How can you _possibly_ know what I'm thinking?" I demanded.

"You think we're alone in this."

"After that massacre last night, how can you think otherwise?" My raised voice echoed down the dark stone hall.

Ed shook his head; he still hadn't looked at me. "That massacre had nothing to do with Aslan, Pete."

My eyes immediately grew fierce. "Go ahead," I challenged. "Say it."

"Say what?"

"That you think it had to do with me!"

"Miraz killed those soldiers, Pete," he said softly. I could tell he thought more, but he'd never say it to me. But he _did_ continue. "The White Witch killed Aslan, but it was _my_ selfishness that gave her that power."

This whole conversation was just becoming an emotional rollercoaster. I didn't know whether to comfort my brother, or rip into him for going too far. Maybe that was the dilemma _he_ was facing right now.

"It's just as much _my_ fault as it is yours," he went on. "Because I _knew_ it was a bad idea from the start, and I didn't say anything. I was behind you all the way. I always will be. And I guess that might be my greatest sin to Aslan."

"What is?" I asked; all the bitterness was gone from my voice.

Finally, Edmund looked at me, casting me a sidelong glance. "That I'll even go against Aslan... just to follow you..."

My breath shot from my lungs, and I just stared stupidly at my brother as he looked back ahead, into the darkness. I couldn't think of anything to say, even though my siblings had always labeled me the most articulate. All I could come up with was, "Where are we going anyway?"

"To the Table," he said. "I just really think we need to."

I fiddled with the lion's head on the hilt of my sword. "Do you really think it'll help?"

We were just approaching the entryway when he grimly replied, "It did wonders for me..."

The emotional rollercoaster continued as we heard Caspian's voice coming from within the Table's chamber. I snarled indignantly and began to turn away when I felt Ed's hand grip my arm to pull me back.

"Listen," he hissed.

"This isn't what I wanted!" Caspian was gasping. I had no idea who he might be in there with, and I didn't want to risk poking my head around the entryway and being seen by the Telmarine prince.

Then I heard the voice. It took me a moment to place it, but I could tell it went to Ed's heart instantly.

"One drop of Adam's blood, and you free me."

"No!" I whispered harshly. Ed was just shaking his head, his eyes round and his face deathly pale.

"Then I am yours, my King..."

My insides were wrenching, my back pressed against the stone. I kept picturing Caspian, releasing the White Witch from whatever bonds were holding her prisoner. I imagined the terror she'd unleash upon my Country, the destruction that would crash like a wave over Narnia. And in its wake, there would be Caspian-- the man who began it all. The scariest thing... I was relishing it.

A humming in my ear brought me back to the present. That humming was my brother. He was constantly whispering "No no no no no no no..." He turned to me, itching to dash into the chamber. But he was waiting for me-- to follow me. Suddenly that image of a shamed Caspian was replaced by the sight of Edmund, small and brave, being stabbed through the stomach by a shattered wand.

Heart suddenly fluttering with rage, I took a deep breath, drew my sword, and gave my brother someone to follow...


	2. Shattered and Lost

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the brief hiatus! Hope you like part two of Pete's tale. I know so many Peter fans were REALLY ticked off at Andrew Adamson and the rest of the movie peeps for making him fall under the witch's spell in Prince Caspian. I know it was frustrating (even though Edmund totally ROCKED IT OUT in that scene, haha) but it also added a lot of depth to Peter's character. I thought I'd try to get a better understanding of Peter's thoughts during this crucial moment. His good reasons for not taking action... and his bad. Enjoy guys, and thanks for reading!

See you at the end.

STORY THREE: FROZEN

CHAPTER TWO: SHATTERED AND LOST

AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF KING PETER THE MAGNIFICENT

I am Peter the Magnificent. Edmund always told me it sounded like the name of a magician, but I liked it. I was High King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands. By the time I was sixteen I'd led an entire army against the greatest evil this world had seen. I'd defeated a country of savage giants before my 23rd birthday. I was part of a legend that had lasted over 1300 years.

But now, as I raced into the chamber of the Stone Table, I was more afraid than I could ever remember. The second I crossed the threshold into that cavern, I could feel I was stepping into darkness.

My brother raced on ahead of me to charge the rabid-looking werewolf. Of course he would leave me with the hag. He'd probably make fun of me later for beating up an old woman. It's so strange how you can think things like that when you're heart is in your throat and you're scared half to death. But maybe thinking like that was what kept me alive all those years...

The hag was easy enough to take down, although she definitely had more fight in her than you would imagine for the crusty, bird-like reptile she was. I heard a desperate cry of pain fill the cavern, and froze on the spot in surprise. I had no idea Lucy was in here. She must have followed right behind us. I began to race to her side when I felt the hag's icy claws on my back. With a frustrated snarl I spun on my heels and arched Rhindon to lop her head clean off. The chilling howl of the werewolf echoed off the walls, and I turned to see Edmund on the ground, and blood was pouring from a gash in the wolf's leg.

My heart was so torn. I couldn't even see Lucy, and now my brother was scrambling up from the floor to avoid the beast's charging jaws. And then for the first time since I dove into this fray, I was able to fix my eyes up to the archway. To _her_, and Caspian. Caspian was like a statue, standing stock still in a glowing circle on the floor, with his trembling hand extended to the ghostly figure of Jadis.

I made my decision.

With a running start, I threw my shoulder right into Caspian's rigid body, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Stay away from him!" I shouted, holding out the deadly tip of my sword as I stared down the length of the blade to the White Witch, who floated like a whisper inside the wall of blue ice in the archway. Her pale fingers had been reaching out from the ice for Caspian, but she quickly drew back from me.

In the space of one second she recovered her demeanor, a gentle veil falling softly over her face.

"Peter dear," she cooed, a beautiful but frightening smile gracing her blue lips. "I've missed you," she said, breaking her hand back through the ice.

I didn't say anything to her. I couldn't. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I'd never stop shouting. There was too much I hated her for. For the fear she placed in each of our hearts, like a seed of ice that had been planted since our first steps from the wardrobe. For what she did at this Table over a thousand years ago. For the sound of my little brother's dying sigh as he fell from the jagged spike of her wand. All these furies threatened to spill venomously from my lips, so I kept them clamped shut.

Jadis asked me softly for a single drop of blood, her fingers curling in anticipation and her sharp eyes piercing the frost. Her words were just a show-- a collection of sugar-covered sweets boxed up in a glittering casket. I shut my ears against them... until she said:

"You know you can't do this alone..."

These words drove through me like an icicle. I blinked in stupefied shock and felt Rhindon suddenly become very heavy in my hand. But as I stared at her through the ice, I saw a difference in her face. There was not the accusing anger I had seen in Caspian's just moments ago. Not the sad fear I saw in Lucy's eyes when she thought I was unaware. There wasn't the frustration in Susan's, Trumpkin's sarcasm, or the disappointed loyalty I saw in Ed.

Instead there was a calmness, almost as sympathetic smile as she watched me from her sea of weightless, ghostly hair.

This was not the same face I had fought in Beruna. Can 1300 years erase that kind of hate? My heart said no, but my mind was like a snow flurry and I had trouble keeping my thoughts in order. I kept wondering what looking into Aslan's eyes in your moment of death would do to you. Then I began to wonder what she could do to Miraz. I pictured ice crawling menacingly towards his castle, climbing the walls, and snaking its way into the King's chambers. I imagined him ensnared mercilessly in her frosty grasp.

My sword fell to my side and I blew out a heavy breath, the vapor of my sigh took flight into the darkness. And then, in a moment so sudden it was hardly visible, a thin silver blade cut neatly through the ice from the other side, right through Jadis' shimmering torso. Both Jadis and I stared in shock at the razor-sharp metal protruding from the ice. My chest was constricting as I saw her tilt her head back and shut her eyes; it was like watching my last chance slip away.

I shouted out a desperate "NO!" but it was completely lost in the sudden, blood-curling scream the Witch released as she and her icy prison shattered in a roaring explosion. I ducked to the floor as shards of ice pelted my back. I lifted my eyes from the cover of my arm to meet the frightened gaze of Caspian as he too cowered on the floor. The blood from his sliced hand was smeared across his cheek. It's funny-- suddenly he didn't look at all like a Telmarine prince. He just looked like a scared kid. I didn't even want to know what I looked like.

The chill in the air was slowly fading, and I didn't look up until the thunder of falling ice ceased. Standing on shaky knees, I looked to the arch. Where an eerie blue glow had been moments before, there was now the soft golden light bouncing off the engraving of Aslan's face, streaming through the now-open archway, and blocked only by a single human form.

My brother Edmund was standing firmly amidst the fallen ice, his sword still clutched in his fist, and his sweaty, dark hair plastered to his brow. He stared down at me from his elevated place at the top of the steps, his eyes cutting into me in a way the Witch's couldn't. My burning desire to keep Jadis at my disposal, at my mercy, was suddenly replaced with the desperate need to hear my brother speak. To hear him shout at me, comfort me, or to tell me again that he'd follow me anywhere.

But for what seemed like an eternity, he just stood there, his breath still heaving in his chest, until he said, "I know... you had it sorted."

Good God, I could have sobbed out loud. I could hear it like thunder in his voice-- the disappointment I'd been sensing in everyone since we'd arrived in Narnia, the disappointment that had been chewing at my stomach this whole time. But hearing it in Edmund's voice was just too much. I watched with a heavy heart as he turned and walked with exhaustion from the chamber, leaving only Aslan's carving to look down at me.

I then turned to finally lay eyes on Lucy. She wasn't even looking at me. Instead, she and Trumpkin were turned away, leaving the body of Nikkabrik the dwarf crumpled on the floor, and walking out the chamber, past Susan.

I wasn't sure how long Sue had been standing there, but by the look in her eyes I would say it was long enough. She stood there for only a moment before turning away and following Lucy out, but her ashamed gaze lingered. I could still feel its burn as I turned to face the only living person left in the chamber. Caspian was already watching me.

"You saved me," he said simply. His blunt honesty shocked me. I took a dry swallow and looked weakly up to the archway.

"No..." I replied. "That wasn't me."

"Not all of it," the prince nodded. "But enough of it." He paused with a heavy sigh, following my gaze to Aslan's stony stare. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Me too." I wasn't sure if we were talking to each other, or someone else. But at least we said it. Caspian turned to walk away, and I kept my eyes on that fixed point, until he called my name from the mouth of the chamber.

I faced him. It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain my composure.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe there were four thrones for a _reason_?"

When he'd gone I felt myself involuntarily slump against the Stone Table. I took a trembling breath and rested my body against the worn stone. Edmund was right; it _did _help somehow. At the foot of the archway lay the shattered shards of ice, like a pile of sparkling bones. Aslan continued to look at me, his stare unrelenting, but his eyes seeming softer than before. I felt a burning tear spill down my dirty cheek.

I was High King Peter, the Magnificent. Lord of Cair Paravel, Emperor of the Lone Islands, more lost than I'd ever felt before, and I'd wait right here until my brother and my sisters came for me.

end.

Hey guys! That's it for this story from Pete. But don't worry, he has another short story coming up soon :) I hope you liked this one. Peter is my 2nd fav character and I love him so much, so hopefully I did him credit. I have the 2nd part of Susan's story "Falling" coming up next, then a whole new story for each Pevensie to add to this series. I really appreciate all the awesome feedback I've had from you guys, your words make me smile in the tiny moments of the day. Thank you thank you, and I hope I continue to not dissapoint. :) And this story was for Maluhan. 3

Connie


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